Federal

Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to repeal the sixteenth article of amendment.

Source: Congress.gov · 335 words in original text

What This Bill Does

This joint resolution proposes a constitutional amendment that would eliminate the sixteenth article of amendment. The sixteenth article currently allows Congress to collect income taxes. If ratified, this amendment would remove that power except during times of war declared by Congress.

Who It Affects

Congress, the Secretary of the Treasury, state legislatures that must ratify the amendment, and the American public who pay income taxes.

Key Provisions

* Congress would lose the power to collect income taxes from any source, except when Congress has declared war (Proposed Article, lines 4-6) * The repeal takes effect two years after states ratify this amendment (Proposed Article, lines 1-2) * Within 180 days after ratification, the Secretary of the Treasury must submit a report to Congress with recommendations for any laws needed to carry out this amendment (Sec. 2)

What Changes

If this amendment becomes law, Congress can no longer collect income taxes during peacetime. The only exception is income taxes collected during declared wars.

Important Definitions

The bill does not provide explicit definitions of its key terms.

Effective Date

Two years after the amendment is ratified by three-fourths of the state legislatures, but no later than seven years after Congress submits it to the states for ratification.

IA 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. J. RES. 47 Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to repeal the sixteenth article of amendment. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 30, 2023 Mr. DAVIDSON (for himself, Mrs. MILLER of Illinois, Mr. NORMAN, Mr. JACK- SON of Texas, and Mr. PERRY) submitted the following joint resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary JOINT RESOLUTION Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to repeal the sixteenth article of amendment. Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives 1 of the United States of America in Congress assembled 2 (two-thirds of each House concurring therein), 3 SECTION 1. That the following article is proposed as 4 an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, 5 which shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part 6 of the Constitution when ratified by the legislatures of 7 three-fourths of the several States within seven years after 8 the date of its submission for ratification: 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:08 Mar 30, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HJ47.IH HJ47 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HJ 47 IH ‘‘ARTICLE — 1 ‘‘Effective 2 years after the ratification of this article 2 of amendment, the sixteenth article of amendment to the 3 Constitution of the United States is repealed, and the 4 Congress shall have no power to lay and collect taxes on 5 incomes, from whatever source derived, except in time of 6 war declared by the Congress.’’. 7 SEC. 2. Not later than 180 days after the ratification 8 of the article of amendment in section 1, the Secretary 9 of the Treasury shall submit a report to Congress con- 10 taining recommendations for any legislation that may be 11 necessary to implement such article. 12 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:08 Mar 30, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HJ47.IH HJ47 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS

Important: This plain English summary was generated by AI and is provided for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice. Always consult the official bill text on Congress.gov or a qualified attorney for legal matters.